- 9 hours ago
Cutting the Cord Reborn as My Mom's High School Frenemy
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:001996, Texas.
00:02I suddenly jerk up from the sink, gasping for air.
00:05Water drips from my thick blonde hair.
00:06I stare at the mirror in shock.
00:08The face staring back at me is vibrant, beautiful, full of life.
00:10Vintage smoky eye makeup framing a chalky teenage face.
00:1318. You young, healthy, cancer-free.
00:16I've been thrown back into the dead-end Texas high school years
00:19my mom spent her entire life clawing her way out of.
00:22Suddenly, the bathroom door swings open.
00:25A familiar grapefruit perfume hits me instantly.
00:27It's Valerie, my 18-year-old mother.
00:30Her hair is pulled into a high-tony tail,
00:31high-waisted jeans hugging her hips,
00:33a white tam-top straight out of a 90s teen magazine.
00:36Come on, the pep lolly's about to start.
00:38She yanks me forward hard enough to make me stumble.
00:40But instead of following her, I freeze.
00:42Stare at the young face in front of me,
00:44untouched by wealth, untouched by surgery,
00:46untouched by the years that twisted her into a monster.
00:49Valerie, we're... friends?
00:51Uh, duh, we're best friends.
00:53Why are you being so weird today? Come on!
00:55She turns and keeps pulling me towards the door.
00:57Half a step behind her, I stare at her back.
00:59The confusion in my eyes vanishes instantly,
01:02replaced by something cold, something vicious.
01:04The school's public address system drones on from the loudspeakers overhead,
01:07buzzing with the daily lunch menu.
01:09Pizza slices, tater tots, and chocolate milk.
01:12Valerie pulls me through the crowded hallway,
01:14her hand warm and dry in mine.
01:16And then it hits me again,
01:18that sharp grapefruit perfume.
01:20The scent wraps around me so suddenly my breath catches.
01:24It was the smell I knew best as a child.
01:26Before I turned five, she used to hold me in her arms,
01:29humming old country songs and asking if I loved her.
01:32But after she ditched me to chase her high school sweetheart to the big city,
01:36that scent only ever showed up in my nightmares.
01:39Scarlet, you've been acting weird all day.
01:41Scarlet?
01:43God, even this body's name sucks.
01:45Carefully, I slip my hand out of hers.
01:47My eyes swamp across the hallway.
01:49The dented locker numbers,
01:50the faded football team pictures,
01:52the bulletin board plastered with fall semester 1996.
01:55Cheerleaders rush past us,
01:57ponytails flying,
01:58while some varsity asshole has a scrawny kid pinned against a logger,
02:01shaking him down for lunch money.
02:03This isn't a dream.
02:04I'm really back in the 90s.
02:06That's when a tall, lanky guy with glasses started walking toward us.
02:10Hector, my mother's first love.
02:12The man who ruined all our lives.
02:14Hey, this is my Scarlet.
02:15She just transferred it in.
02:16Scarlet, meet Hector.
02:17Straight A student, total teacher's pet,
02:19basically tutoring half the school.
02:21Hey, I'm Hector.
02:23Welcome to East Ridge.
02:24The second I hear his name,
02:26my stomach turns.
02:28I ignore his hand completely
02:29and scan the noisy hallway
02:31for the one person who should have been here.
02:33Where's my dad?
02:35Austin should be at this school too.
02:37Wait, Austin's not in your class?
02:39Austin?
02:40There's no Austin in this entire school.
02:44Austin Walker, my dad.
02:46He's not, he's not here?
02:49Your dad?
02:50Just as I'm scrambling for an excuse,
02:53a roar erupts from the end of the hallway and saves me.
02:55The pep rally's starting.
02:57You coming or what?
02:59Sunlight spills across her shoulders.
03:00For a second,
03:01she looks nothing like the woman
03:02who would one day watch me die without blinking.
03:05The gym is loud,
03:06humilded,
03:07packed wall to wall.
03:09Football players in red jerseys
03:10charge onto the court
03:11while cheerleaders shake palm balls
03:13under the flashing lights.
03:14The bleachers thunder
03:15with stomping feet
03:16and screaming students.
03:18This Friday,
03:19let's show East Ridge
03:20who really runs this town.
03:22The crowd explodes.
03:24She's radiant up there.
03:26Beside me,
03:26Hector adjusts his glasses,
03:28eyes fixed on her.
03:29She's gonna get out of this town someday.
03:31He says it like he already knows the future.
03:34I don't answer.
03:35I just stare at Valerie beneath the spotlight.
03:38After the rally,
03:39students pour out of the gym.
03:41The halls fill
03:42with slamming lockers
03:43and overlapping conversations again.
03:46People argue about Friday's game.
03:48Girls debate who's gonna win prom queen.
03:50Last period is study hall.
03:52Valerie sits one row ahead of me by the window.
03:55Her notes need enough to look typed.
03:56As she flips a page,
03:59something slips out from between her books.
04:01A pale green application packet.
04:03Harvard University.
04:05My breathing catches.
04:06She actually got an application.
04:08But later in life,
04:09she always says Harvard was never an option
04:11for someone like her.
04:12So that was a lie too.
04:13Valerie,
04:14your future turns out cheap and pathetic anyway.
04:16So why are you out here
04:17pretend to be some gifted golden girl right now?
04:19It makes me sick.
04:20I rise from my seat.
04:21Then,
04:22with one sharp shove of my elbow,
04:23I knock over the black coffee on her desk.
04:26The dark liquid spills perfectly across the application packet,
04:29soaking through the giant Harvard crest
04:31until the ink begins to bleed.
04:32I stare at her coldly,
04:34waiting for her to snap,
04:35waiting for the mask to fall off,
04:37waiting to finally see the real Valerie
04:39underneath all that fake sweetness.
04:41But her reaction throws me completely off.
04:46Oh God,
04:47Scarlet,
04:48are you okay?
04:49She grabs a stack of napkins
04:50and immediately starts swiping coffee off my hand.
04:52There's real concern in her eyes.
04:53No anger,
04:54no blame,
04:55not even irritation.
04:56It's wrong.
04:57She's too nice.
04:58So nice it scares me.
05:00Nice enough to make me wonder
05:01if the woman I remember
05:02was ever the real Valerie at all.
05:04Just then,
05:05the classroom door swings open.
05:07A Latino teacher steps inside
05:09and walks over to Valerie's desk.
05:11Hey Valerie,
05:12something came up with Scarlet's family
05:14kind of an emergency.
05:15Your parents called
05:16and asked if you could bring her home
05:17with you after school.
05:19An emergency?
05:20What the hell happened?
05:22By the time school lets out,
05:23the Texas sunset looks like
05:24the whole sky's on fire.
05:26Stadium lights flicker on
05:27one by one around the football field.
05:29The cheer squad is still practicing
05:30while snippets of 90s pop songs
05:32crack through the loudspears.
05:34Valerie walks a few steps ahead of me,
05:35her ponytail swaying softly behind her.
05:37She suddenly stops
05:38and turns to me gently.
05:39I heard about your parents.
05:41Scarlet,
05:41don't be scared, okay?
05:42You've still got me.
05:43We're best friends.
05:44Then she pulls me into a hug.
05:45I'm sorry for what happened.
05:46If you need a shoulder to cry on,
05:48I'll always be here.
05:48That faint grapefruit scent
05:50wraps around me again.
05:51And just like that,
05:52I break.
05:53In my last life,
05:54there were countless nights
05:55when I would have given anything
05:56for this exact embrace.
05:57As I sob into her shoulder,
05:59I deliberately smears and snot
06:00all over her pretty shirt.
06:01Petty revenge.
06:02Pathetic, tiny revenge.
06:04But her arms are warm
06:05exactly the way
06:06I remember from childhood.
06:07So how the hell
06:08did someone like this
06:09become the woman
06:10who wouldn't even save my life?
06:12A bicycle bell rings behind us.
06:14Hector catches up,
06:15pushing an old bike
06:15with a paper box of cupcakes
06:17sitting in the basket.
06:18He adjusts his glasses awkwardly.
06:20Sugar helps.
06:21A little, anyway.
06:22I watch the two of them
06:23walking side by side
06:24beneath the football field lights,
06:25and something bitter
06:26twists in my chest.
06:27What, Hector?
06:28You gonna pick her up
06:29like this every day?
06:30Keep her stuck in this town
06:31and make her your wife someday?
06:32Hector stops walking,
06:33but when he looks at me,
06:35his expression is completely
06:36open and sincere.
06:37Valerie's meant for bigger things
06:39than this place.
06:39She's too talented
06:40to spend her life
06:41shrinking herself
06:42for some guy.
06:44That'd be wrong.
06:46I freeze,
06:47because I never imagined
06:49Hector would say
06:49something like that.
06:52I'm not getting stuck
06:53married with kids at 18.
06:55I want to see
06:56what's out there first.
06:57But you did have me at 18.
06:58You ended up trapped
06:59in a rotting trailer park
07:00full of violence
07:01and screaming
07:02and broken walls.
07:03Valerie,
07:04did your dreams betray you?
07:05The whole walk there,
07:07something about this timeline
07:08feels off in a way
07:09I can't explain.
07:11And then Valerie
07:12opens the front door.
07:14The smell of home-cooked food
07:16hits me instantly.
07:18So you're Scarlet, huh?
07:20Hi, Mr. Wyatt.
07:22Thanks for letting me stay over.
07:25He bursts out laughing
07:26and pulls me inside
07:27before I can even finish.
07:29The house is warm,
07:31spotless,
07:31lived in.
07:32There's a brand new pair
07:33of slippers waiting for me
07:34by the entryway
07:35along with folded pajamas
07:36set out they'd been
07:36expecting me for days.
07:38The living room walls
07:38are lined with plaques,
07:39commendations,
07:40and framed Federal Service Award.
07:42On the TV,
07:43a local news station
07:44is covering a major
07:44drug trafficking case
07:45near the Texas border.
07:46A photo flashes on screen
07:48of two fallen narcotics agents.
07:49Your parents were good people, kiddo.
07:52Best partners I ever had.
07:53Real heroes.
07:55And from now on,
07:55this house is yours too.
07:57You hear me?
07:57That's when it finally hits me.
07:59The parents belonging
08:00to this body
08:01are already dead.
08:02Dinner is loud
08:03and warm
08:03and painfully alive.
08:05Grandpa keeps
08:05piling food onto plates.
08:07Grandma laughs at everything.
08:08A dog nudges
08:09against my legs
08:10beneath the table.
08:10The kitchen light glows
08:11so warmly
08:12it almost hurts to look at.
08:13And across from me
08:13sits Valerie,
08:14laughing freely
08:15while her parents
08:16dole on her
08:16like she's the center
08:17of their universe.
08:17My chest tightens
08:19so hard
08:20it feels unbearable.
08:21This is insane.
08:22Like some cruel
08:23cosmic joke.
08:24She grew up surrounded
08:25by this much love.
08:26So how the hell
08:27did she become someone
08:28who could watch me die
08:29without a single
08:30shred of kindness?
08:31Late that night,
08:32Valerie and I lay
08:33side by side
08:34in the dark.
08:35There's been this huge
08:37cartel case
08:37near the border lately.
08:39I keep having nightmares
08:40something's gonna happen
08:40to my parents.
08:42At 18,
08:43she looks so young,
08:44so fragile.
08:45Before sunrise,
08:47I wake to the sound
08:47of movement
08:48in the living room.
08:49Grandpa is sitting
08:49by the door
08:50pulling on his police boots.
08:51I run out barefoot
08:52and grab onto his sleeve
08:53before he can leave.
08:54Mr. Wyatt,
08:55please be careful out there.
08:57He smiles
08:57and ruffles my hair.
08:58I will, kiddo.
08:59Promise I'll come home safe.
09:01Then he and Grandma
09:01disappear together
09:02into the pale border fog
09:04of early morning
09:05and the dread in my chest
09:06only grows heavier.
09:10Valerie stumbles out of bed
09:12half asleep the next morning
09:13and stands in front
09:14of the mirror,
09:15completely lost
09:16trying to fix her ponytail.
09:17God, she's hopeless.
09:19I walk over
09:20and quietly redo
09:21her hair for her.
09:22It's the first time
09:23in both my lives
09:24that I've ever been
09:24this close to her.
09:26Scarlett,
09:26how are you so good at this?
09:28And suddenly I remember
09:29how, when I was little,
09:30she always hacked my hair off
09:32into awful tomboy cuts.
09:33Maybe it wasn't coldness
09:34after all.
09:35Maybe 18-year-old Valerie
09:36just barely knew
09:37how to take care of herself.
09:38A bicycle bell rings
09:39outside the yard.
09:40Hector, right on schedule.
09:42He hands me an ice-cold soda,
09:43then stares at my face
09:45for a little too long.
09:47Scarlett,
09:48is it just me
09:48or are you starting
09:49to look more and more
09:50like Valerie?
09:51A chill shoots
09:52straight through me.
09:52Right before I died
09:53in my last life,
09:54I was barely recognizable,
09:55skin and bones
09:56from the cancer.
09:57But the last time
09:57I looked in a mirror,
09:58I realized something horrifying.
09:59I hadn't taken over
10:00someone else's body.
10:01I came back wearing
10:02my own 18-year-old face.
10:04Pretty girls always
10:05kind of look alike, right?
10:06Surrounded by all this warmth,
10:08I start wavering.
10:09It gets harder and harder
10:10to connect this version
10:11of Valini to the woman
10:12from my last life.
10:13This girl is kind,
10:15bright,
10:16alive.
10:16I finally begin to understand
10:18why my dad, Austin,
10:19spent his whole life
10:20loving her even when
10:21she never truly loved him back.
10:22Part of me even starts thinking
10:23that when I finally meet him
10:24in this timeline,
10:25maybe I should tell him
10:26to fall for somebody else.
10:28But I never imagined
10:29that just as I started
10:30letting my guard down,
10:31hell was already
10:32opening its doors.
10:33School lets out early that day.
10:35Hector and I stop by
10:36a taco truck on the corner.
10:38Valerie says she's tired
10:39and asks us to grab her
10:41a baked potato
10:41before heading home
10:43ahead of us.
10:44We're almost at her house
10:45when an old pickup truck
10:46with no plates
10:47suddenly comes flying backward
10:49out of the driveway.
10:51Several tattooed men in masks
10:52jump into the bed
10:53of the truck.
10:54Then a scream tears
10:56through the air.
10:57It's Valerie.
11:01When I finally open
11:02my eyes again,
11:03all I see is the pale white
11:04ceiling of a hospital room.
11:05Sitting beside my bed
11:06is Hector.
11:06When he ran for help,
11:07Austin's men caught him
11:08and beat him half to death.
11:09The second he sees me awake,
11:10arrogant genius,
11:11completely falls apart.
11:12He wipes his eyes
11:13while gripping to entice
11:14Sotelit.
11:14You were the last one
11:15to wake up.
11:16Do you have any idea
11:17how close you came to dying?
11:19You scared the hell out of us!
11:20He's crying so hard,
11:21it's a complete mess.
11:22Tears, snot, everything.
11:23At one point,
11:23he even spits on my face
11:24while talking.
11:25I let out a weak laugh.
11:26The anesthesia still
11:27hasn't fully worn over.
11:28I can't really feel pain yet,
11:29just a heavy numbness
11:29all over my body.
11:30I look at him anxiously.
11:31Valerie's parents
11:32and Valerie,
11:33are they okay?
11:35Her folks made it
11:36to the hospital
11:36just in time.
11:37If that knife
11:38had hit either of them
11:39any worse.
11:41I struggle to sit up,
11:42desperate to see her,
11:43but before I can move,
11:44the hospital room door
11:45slowly opens.
11:46Valerie is standing there.
11:47Her eyes look hollow,
11:48and when she looks at me,
11:50there's something shattered
11:51in them I can't even
11:51begin to explain.
11:52I say her name softly.
11:53She nods faintly
11:55and walks over,
11:55her cold fingers
11:56on my shoulder.
11:57Does it hurt?
11:58I shake my head.
11:59Looking at her red-rimmed eyes,
12:01I force a small smile.
12:03Have you been crying?
12:04She doesn't answer.
12:05She just holds my hand tighter
12:07and gently squeezes my cheek
12:08like she's afraid I'll disappear.
12:09Then suddenly,
12:10she lowers her head
12:11and tears drip
12:11onto the back of my hand.
12:13Thank you, Scarlet.
12:14If it weren't for you,
12:15I would have lost my parents.
12:18I look at the 18-year-old version
12:20of my mother
12:20standing in front of me,
12:21her fate already
12:22completely changed
12:23because of me.
12:23I sniff hard,
12:25holding back tears.
12:26I don't say a single word.
12:27I just let her tears
12:28soak into my skin
12:29before slowly lifting
12:30my free hand
12:30and placing it softly
12:31over the trembling hand
12:32resting on my shoulder.
12:36Valerie looks down
12:37at my hand
12:38covering hers
12:38as if she understands
12:40the comfort in my eyes.
12:42She takes a deep breath.
12:45Tears still cling
12:46to her lashes,
12:46but for the first time
12:48and forever,
12:49her voice carries
12:50a little relief.
12:51I've got good news.
12:52The case is over.
12:53The cartel operation
12:54finally got busted.
12:56Every single person
12:57involved in the attack
12:58was caught near the border.
12:59My parents can finally
13:00rest for a while.
13:01The moment I hear
13:02Austin and the traffickers
13:03were all arrested,
13:04my entire mind
13:05goes blank.
13:06Relief crashes over me
13:07so hard,
13:08I almost shoot upright
13:09in the hospital bed.
13:10Wait, seriously?
13:10They caught all of them?
13:13Yes, seriously.
13:15Now stop moving
13:16before you rip
13:16your stitches open.
13:17Crushing weight
13:18that haunted me
13:18through both lifetimes
13:19finally disappears
13:20at that moment.
13:21Meanwhile, Hector,
13:22who has been sitting
13:22nearby this entire time,
13:24calmly peels a banana
13:25like nothing's happening.
13:26Doctor said
13:27you should eat this.
13:28You've already woken up
13:29a few times
13:29these past couple days.
13:30You've managed
13:31to pass gas,
13:32so now they're just
13:32waiting to see
13:33if you can finally
13:34have a bowel movement.
13:35Coming from someone
13:36usually this serious,
13:37it's so absurd
13:37I completely lose it.
13:39Unfortunately,
13:39the second I laugh,
13:40pain rips through
13:40the stitches in my abdomen.
13:41I immediately hiss in pain,
13:43clutching my stomach.
13:44Valerie starts laughing too,
13:45but after a few seconds
13:46her laughter fades.
13:47Tears suddenly begin
13:48falling again
13:48without warning.
13:49She tries to cry quietly.
13:51She doesn't want
13:51either of us to notice.
13:53Hector's smile
13:53slowly disappears too.
13:55I wrap both arms
13:56tightly around
13:57this 18-year-old girl.
13:58At that moment,
13:59through my chest
14:00is no longer the hatred
14:01I carried in my previous life.
14:03Mom,
14:04if I had known
14:04my biologed father
14:05was the monster
14:06who destroyed
14:06your entire family,
14:07how could I ever
14:08have hated you?
14:09I would have only
14:10hated myself
14:11forever being born,
14:12since fate gave me
14:13another chance.
14:14Then this time,
14:16I'll set you free.
14:19After surviving the nightmare,
14:21the little Texas town
14:22slowly comes back to life.
14:23Once I'm discharged
14:24from the hospital,
14:24my grandparents
14:25take me home.
14:26Grandpa proudly hands me
14:27a limited edition Barbie doll
14:28he brought back
14:28from New York.
14:29In my previous life,
14:30it was the only toy
14:31my mother had ever given me,
14:32but this time,
14:33somehow,
14:33it heals me first.
14:34Then Grandma
14:35completely hijacks
14:36what was supposed to be
14:36an emotional family dinner
14:37with giant sizzling Texas steaks,
14:39oversized cowboy hats
14:40and boots that look
14:41straight out of a Hollywood audition,
14:42and enough chaos
14:43to turn the whole night
14:44upside down.
14:45Even Hector,
14:46who normally acts
14:46way too composed for his age,
14:48finally laughs
14:48without holding back.
14:51But beneath the warm
14:52yellow glow of the dinner lights,
14:54the conversation
14:54eventually turns to goodbye.
14:56Hector's mother
14:56lifts her wine glass,
14:57eyes red and swollen,
14:58and quietly announces
14:59that they're moving back
15:00to Boston before Thanksgiving.
15:01She can't handle the danger
15:03near the border anymore.
15:04And in that moment,
15:05a misunderstanding
15:06from both my lifetimes
15:07finally unravels.
15:08In my previous life,
15:10Hector never left
15:11because he looked down
15:11on my mother's reputation.
15:13His mother had simply
15:14watched her son nearly die.
15:15Any parent would have wanted
15:16to run from this place
15:17after that.
15:18As an old country song
15:20crackles through the radio
15:21in the background,
15:22we start talking
15:23about the future.
15:24Valerie asks
15:25where I want to go
15:25to school someday.
15:26I look at her,
15:27the girl whose entire future
15:29was crushed fate
15:30in my previous life,
15:31and answer without hesitation,
15:33Harvard,
15:33Under the endless
15:34Texas night sky,
15:35with the Milky Way
15:36stretched above her
15:37like a dream,
15:37I finally understand
15:38the suffocating pain
15:39she carried in her
15:39previous life.
15:40I turn my head slightly
15:41and whisper so softly
15:42that only I can hear it.
15:43Mom, this time
15:44go live your life,
15:45chase your dreams,
15:45be yourself again.
15:46As for me,
15:47I'll stay behind
15:48in the darkness
15:48of this timeline.
15:49The day Hector leaves,
15:50the boy who has always
15:51been calm and restrained
15:52completely breaks down
15:53the moment he steps
15:54onto the bus.
15:55Clinging to the window,
15:56he cries so hard
15:57he can barely breathe,
15:58and then the bus
15:58slowly pulls away,
16:00kicking up clouds
16:00of Texas dust
16:01before disappearing
16:02at the end of the highway.
16:03Watching the bus
16:04vanish into the distance,
16:05I think life might
16:06finally return to normal.
16:07But fate still
16:08isn't done with me yet.
16:09Something happened
16:10to Valerie.
16:13After seeing Hector off,
16:15we head home
16:15through the bitter
16:16Texas winter wind.
16:17I cling tightly
16:17to Valerie's arm,
16:18trying my best
16:19to keep the mood light
16:19while talking excitedly
16:20about Christmas dinner plans.
16:21It has to be there.
16:22And Mr. Wyatt smoked
16:23pulled pork too.
16:24No argument.
16:24This year,
16:25we are eating like royalty.
16:26I'm still rambling happily
16:27when Valerie's expression
16:28suddenly changes.
16:29Without warning,
16:30she jerks her arm
16:30out of my grasp.
16:31Like a frightened deer,
16:32she stumbles towards
16:33a trash can
16:34on the side of the road,
16:35bends over,
16:35and starts violently throwing up.
16:37She vomits so hard
16:38there's eventually
16:39nothing left
16:39except bitter dry humps.
16:41By the end,
16:42she can barely
16:42stay standing.
16:43She grips a freezing
16:44telephone pole for support,
16:46her whole body
16:47trembling violently,
16:48her face drained
16:49completely white.
16:50My mind goes blank.
16:51The smile freezes
16:53on my face.
16:54Watching her clutch
16:55her stomach
16:56and reek in pain,
16:57a terrifying cold realization
16:59crawls slowly up my spine
17:01like ice water.
17:03No symptoms.
17:06No.
17:06No way.
17:13You're pregnant?
17:16Valerie instinctively
17:17places a hand
17:18over her stomach.
17:19Her eyes are filled
17:20with the kind of panic
17:21and confusion
17:22no 18-year-old girl
17:24should ever have to carry.
17:25What happened that night
17:26may have been stopped
17:27halfway through,
17:28but some nightmares
17:29had already rerouted
17:30themselves deep in the dark.
17:33She looks at me helplessly,
17:35tears trembling
17:36in her eyes.
17:37I don't know, Scarlett.
17:40I thought maybe
17:41it was just stress lately.
17:43I haven't had much appetite
17:45and I kept feeling nauseous.
17:47Come on.
17:48We're going to the clinic.
17:49Now.
17:49I don't even let her
17:50finish speaking.
17:51I grab her hand
17:53and practically drag her
17:54down the street
17:55toward the town's
17:55small community clinic.
17:59The doctor on duty
18:00is an elderly
18:01Cuban-American woman
18:02with silver hair,
18:03Dr. Ramirez.
18:04She isn't just the only
18:05general practitioner in town.
18:06She's also one of
18:07Grandma Wyatt's
18:08oldest friends
18:09and her tells
18:09alongside her years ago.
18:11The second Dr. Romero
18:12sees Valerie's face
18:13and the sheer panic
18:14in my eyes,
18:15her sharp,
18:16battle-worned gaze
18:17immediately narrows.
18:18Wasting another second,
18:19she starts ushering
18:21every remaining patient
18:22out of the clinic.
18:23The entire room
18:24falls into suffocating silence.
18:28Tell me what's going on.
18:30My scalp preckles with dread
18:31as I quickly explain
18:32Valerie's nausea
18:33and vomiting.
18:34The old doctor says nothing
18:36after hearing me out,
18:37but a deep,
18:38piercing sorrow
18:38flashes through her eyes.
18:40She quietly takes Valerie
18:41into the examination room
18:43in the back.
18:44The moment the door closes,
18:45all the strength
18:46drains out of me.
18:47I collapse into the
18:48cold metal chair
18:49outside the office,
18:50shoving both hands
18:51deep into my hair.
18:52More than anyone else,
18:53I know exactly
18:54where I came from.
18:55And because of the
18:55that,
18:56a horrifying truth
18:56finally pieces itself
18:57together in my mind.
18:58In my previous life,
19:00Austin,
19:00the man who raised me
19:01after storing Valerie's life,
19:02was actually released
19:03from prison early.
19:04After committing crimes
19:05like that,
19:05he still got out
19:06in less than 20 years.
19:07Back then,
19:08when the case went to court,
19:09Valerie must have
19:10stayed silent.
19:11Maybe to hide the shame
19:12of being pregnant
19:12as a teenager.
19:13Maybe to protect
19:14the Wyatt family's reputation.
19:16Whatever the reason,
19:17her silence helped
19:18set a monster free.
19:19The guilt of my own existence
19:20tears through me
19:21like a dull blade.
19:22This nightmare
19:22destroyed a brilliant girl
19:23who was supposed
19:24to go to Harvard.
19:24and the one thing
19:25it gave back
19:26to the world
19:26was a demon.
19:29Half an hour later,
19:30the exam room door
19:31slowly creaks open.
19:33Dr. Ramirez steps outside
19:34looking exhausted.
19:35She gently pats
19:37my shoulder.
19:38Scarlet,
19:40go get Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt
19:41for me.
19:44The moment the truth
19:45comes out,
19:46the house,
19:47which had barely
19:48survived one nightmare
19:49already,
19:50falls into dead silence
19:52all over again.
20:01Grandpa sits heavily
20:03on the couch.
20:04This massive,
20:06hard-nosed cop
20:06who once stared down
20:07cartel gunfires
20:08now looks hollowed out,
20:10like a man aging
20:11ten years
20:12in a single night.
20:15He buries his rough,
20:17califafed hands
20:18over his face
20:19and says nothing.
20:22Meanwhile,
20:23Grandma holds
20:24eighteen-year-old
20:25Valerie tightly
20:26in her arms,
20:27sobbing so hard
20:28she can barely breathe.
20:30We're packing tonight.
20:33We'll go straight
20:34to Boston
20:34and stay with
20:35Hector and his mother.
20:38I won't let
20:39that monster's family
20:40lay a finger
20:42on you
20:42ever again.
20:44Valerie stays
20:45curled up
20:46in the corner
20:46of the bed
20:47the entire time,
20:48silent as a
20:49porcelain doll.
20:50She doesn't say
20:51a word.
20:51She just keeps
20:52staring at me
20:53with those
20:53shattered,
20:54empty eyes.
20:55But somewhere
20:56inside them
20:56is still this
20:57helpless instinct
20:58begging for someone
20:59to save her.
21:00The sight
21:00tears me apart
21:01inside.
21:03I lower my head
21:04immediately,
21:06too ashamed
21:07to even look
21:07my own mother
21:08in the eye.
21:09And then
21:10things somehow
21:10get even worse.
21:13Austin's trashy
21:13parents,
21:14the grandparents
21:15I had in my
21:16previous life,
21:16somehow hear
21:17about Valerie's
21:18pregnancy.
21:19Right after the
21:19attack,
21:20those two cowards
21:21vanished completely
21:22to avoid being
21:22dragged into the
21:23police investigation.
21:24But the second
21:24they hear Valerie
21:25is carrying
21:25Austin's child,
21:26they swoop in
21:27like vultures
21:28smelling blood.
21:28To them,
21:29this pregnancy
21:30is leverage,
21:31the perfect weapon
21:32to destroy the
21:33Wyatt family.
21:33We barely made
21:35it back home
21:35before the two
21:36of them show up
21:36outside the house
21:37with some sleazy
21:38lawyer they hire.
21:41The smell of
21:42cheap cigarettes
21:43and stale alcohol
21:44hits before they
21:45even step into
21:46the yard.
21:49My former
21:50grandfather,
21:51Silas Walker,
21:52doesn't show
21:52even a trace
21:53of shame.
21:54No guilt,
21:56no apology,
21:58just this
21:59disgusting,
22:00smug
22:00arrogance.
22:04Standing in
22:05the yard,
22:05he bellows
22:06toward the
22:06house like
22:07he owns
22:07the place.
22:08Officer Wyatt,
22:09don't hide
22:10in there.
22:10My son,
22:11Austin,
22:12may be in
22:12prison,
22:13but he still
22:13has parental
22:14rights.
22:15That baby
22:15is part of
22:16our family,
22:16and you're
22:17not taking
22:17our grandchild
22:18anywhere.
22:19The sleazy
22:20lawyer beside
22:21him adjusts
22:21his glasses
22:22and smirks
22:23coldly.
22:26If Miss
22:27Yight refuses
22:28to drop the
22:28charges,
22:28we're fully
22:29prepared to
22:29drag this
22:30through family
22:30court for
22:31years.
22:32And trust
22:32me,
22:32once the
22:33media gets
22:34involved,
22:34everybody in
22:35Texas is
22:35going to know
22:36exactly what
22:36happened to
22:37your daughter.
22:41Then
22:41Mayabelle Walker,
22:42my former
22:43grandmother,
22:44blows out a
22:44stream of
22:45cigarette smoke
22:45and starts
22:46screeching at
22:47the house.
22:48you go
22:49testify in
22:50federal court
22:51and we'll
22:51swear Valerie
22:52wanted it.
22:53We'll tell
22:54everyone you
22:54cops framed
22:55our son.
22:58We'll make
22:59damn sure
23:00every police
23:01department in
23:02Texas knows
23:03what kind of
23:03girl your
23:04daughter really
23:05is.
23:05You think
23:06those badges
23:07are going to
23:07survive this?
23:09We'll ruin
23:11your whole
23:11family!
23:15The police
23:16had kept the
23:17details of
23:17that night
23:18sealed tightly.
23:19Nobody in
23:20town knew
23:20what Valerie
23:21had actually
23:22suffered in
23:22the dark.
23:23But now,
23:23these two
23:24shameless
23:24monsters are
23:25ripping open
23:25her deepest
23:26traumata in
23:26public just
23:27to save
23:27their worthless
23:28son from
23:29federal prison.
23:29They stand
23:30outside with
23:31a damn
23:31megaphone,
23:32turning a
23:32survivor's
23:33private nightmare
23:34into some
23:34sick public
23:35spectacle about
23:36protecting the
23:36family bloodline.
23:37Before long,
23:38the whole town
23:39knows.
23:39But they
23:40don't actually
23:41want the
23:41baby.
23:41That's never
23:42been the
23:42point.
23:43What they
23:44want is
23:44pressure.
23:46They want
23:46to weaponize
23:47this conservative
23:48little town,
23:49the gossip,
23:50the judgment,
23:51the victim
23:51blaming,
23:52until the
23:52Wyatts have
23:53nowhere left
23:53to run.
23:54And their
23:55terms are
23:55crystal clear.
23:56They want
23:57Valerie to
23:57change her
23:58testimony in
23:58federal court.
24:00They want her
24:01to claim Austin
24:02was just the
24:02driver and knew
24:03nothing about the
24:04attack.
24:05In exchange,
24:06the Walkers
24:06will stop harassing
24:07the family and
24:08leave them alone.
24:09Hearing the
24:10whispers rising
24:11outside the fence,
24:12seeing neighbors
24:13stare with that
24:14fake sympathy
24:15hiding disgust
24:16underneath.
24:19Everything suddenly
24:20clicks into place
24:21inside my head.
24:23Now I understand
24:24exactly how Austin
24:25got that early
24:26release in my
24:26previous life.
24:28There had been
24:28a deal.
24:30And Valerie
24:30had been crushed
24:31into accepting it.
24:32Looking at those
24:33two smug bastards
24:34standing outside
24:34our home acting
24:35righteous.
24:36Every ounce of
24:37humiliation from
24:37my previous life
24:38and every drop of
24:39rage from this one
24:40finally explodes
24:41inside me.
24:41To hell with
24:42staying calm.
24:43I grab Grandpa's
24:44Louisville slugger
24:45from behind the
24:45front door and
24:46storm outside,
24:47gripping the bat
24:47so hard my
24:48knuckles go white.
24:49By then,
24:49all I can see
24:50is red.
25:06Right in front of
25:07everyone,
25:07I swing the bat.
25:08Crack, crack.
25:09The heavy end of
25:10the Louisville slugger
25:11smashes straight into
25:12Silas and
25:12Mabian's faces
25:13without a shred
25:14of hesitation.
25:14The sound of
25:15teeth breaking
25:16mixes with their
25:16screams as both
25:17of them stumble
25:18backward, clutching
25:19their bloody mouths
25:19before collapsing
25:20into the dirt.
25:21Your son is a
25:22convicted rapist!
25:23I point the bat
25:24directly at the
25:25two of them,
25:25shaking with rage.
25:27Where the hell
25:27was the talk
25:28about the La La
25:28when your psycho
25:29son was pointing
25:30a gun at federal
25:31officers?
25:32And now you want
25:33to come here
25:33and black rail cops?
25:36Gripping the bat
25:37with both hands,
25:38I swing as hard
25:38as I can
25:39into the lawyer's
25:40sedan parked
25:40by the curb.
25:41The windshield
25:41explodes instantly
25:42into a spider web
25:43of shattered glass.
25:44Then I whip around
25:45towards the neighbors
25:46gathering outside
25:47the fence,
25:47all of them
25:48whispering and staring.
25:49What are you all
25:50looking at?
25:51Anybody else
25:52wants to stand here
25:53screaming at a victim
25:54with these two pieces
25:55of trash?
25:55I raise the broken
25:56bat, splintered wood
25:58jouting from the barrel.
25:59I swear to God
26:00the next swing
26:01straight goes
26:01through your skull!
26:02Get the hell
26:03away from the Wyatt House!
26:04All of you, move!
26:06The hot border wind
26:07tears through the street.
26:09One look at the
26:09shattered bat
26:10in my hands
26:10is enough.
26:11The neighbors pale
26:12instantly and start
26:13backing away in fear.
26:14And then suddenly,
26:15Silas runges at me
26:16with a rusty switchblade
26:18in his hand.
26:18Drop the charges
26:19or I'll kill
26:20every last one of you!
26:24The gunshot
26:25detonates
26:25like thunder.
26:27The bullet slices
26:28past Silas's ear
26:29and blasts apart
26:30one of the wooden
26:30fence posts behind him.
26:32Everyone freezes.
26:33Grandpa Rick
26:33stands there
26:34gripping a
26:34corduroy
26:35on the revolver.
26:36The barrel pressed
26:37directly against
26:37Silas's forehead.
26:38His voice is low
26:39and deadly.
26:40Officer Miller's daughter
26:41took a knife
26:42from my family.
26:43You touch her again
26:44and see what happens.
26:46The ringing echo
26:47from the gunshot
26:48leaves everyone stunned.
26:50Silas drops
26:50the knife immediately.
26:52It clatters
26:53onto the dirt
26:53beside him
26:54as he collapses
26:54in terror.
26:58He's gonna kill us!
26:59The cops are trying
27:01to murder us!
27:02But before she can
27:02say another word
27:03another figure
27:04comes flying down
27:05the porch steps.
27:06Grandma.
27:07She moves like lightning.
27:09Grabbing a fistful
27:10of Maybella's
27:11brittle yellow hair
27:12she yanks her sideways
27:13so hard
27:14the old woman
27:14nearly falls.
27:15Slap!
27:16Grandma backhands her
27:18across the face
27:18hard enough
27:19to send her crashing
27:20into the dirt
27:20then plants a boot
27:21against her chest.
27:23Her eyes are pure steel.
27:25You think you can
27:25threaten my daughter's name?
27:26I'll go to prison
27:28smiling before I let
27:29your family destroy
27:29her life.
27:30Now get the hell
27:31off my property
27:32before I bury
27:33all of you out
27:34in the desert myself.
27:35Rick cocks
27:36the revolver once
27:37never taking his eyes
27:38off Silas.
27:39You assaulted my family.
27:41As a police officer
27:42I have every right
27:43to arrest you right now.
27:44Next time
27:45you won't walk away
27:46this lucky.
27:47Now get out.
27:48The sheer violence
27:49radiating off the two
27:50retired narcotics officers
27:52terrifies everyone
27:53into silence.
27:54The gossiping neighbors
27:55scatter immediately.
27:56Silas and Maybel
27:57scramble to their feet
27:58and flee down the road
27:59like stray dogs.
28:01But then suddenly
28:02Grandpa Rick
28:03doubles over
28:04coughing violently.
28:05Fresh blood
28:06begins soaking
28:06through the white bandages
28:08wrapped around his torso.
28:14Grandpa's stitches
28:15tear open again
28:16so Grandma rushes
28:17him back to the hospital.
28:18I stay behind
28:18to take care of Valerie.
28:19Standing outside
28:20her bedroom door
28:20I force myself
28:21to breathe through
28:21the panic crushing my chest.
28:22I wipe the tears
28:23and blood off my face
28:24over and over
28:24with my sleeve
28:25until my skin
28:25burns raw.
28:26I can't let Valerie
28:27see me falling apart.
28:28Right now I have
28:29to be strong for her.
28:30I shove the bedroom
28:31door open
28:31and lock it tightly
28:32behind me
28:33shutting out the chaos
28:33outside.
28:34Then I walk straight
28:35towards her bed.
28:37The second I see
28:38her sitting there
28:39pale,
28:40hollow,
28:41motionless,
28:42something inside me
28:43finally breaks
28:43completely.
28:45Valerie,
28:47let's leave.
28:48We can start over
28:49somewhere else.
28:50New York,
28:51California,
28:52anywhere.
28:55I almost sound
28:57desperate.
28:58I grab her shoulders
28:59gently,
28:59trying to pull strength
29:01from the girl who,
29:02in another lifetime,
29:03would become my mother
29:0419 years later.
29:05But Valerie never
29:07says a word.
29:08She just stays curled
29:09in the corner of the bed.
29:11The fading sunset
29:12filters through the blinds,
29:13strip by strip,
29:14dying slowly across her face.
29:16Then she finally
29:17lifts her head.
29:18And once again,
29:19she looks at me
29:20with those same
29:20shattered eyes.
29:22Empty,
29:23helpless,
29:23but still quietly
29:24begging someone
29:25to save me.
29:26Sight crushes my chest.
29:27For my entire
29:28previous life,
29:29I thought I had been
29:29born unwanted.
29:30But now I finally
29:31understand the truth.
29:32My birth was never love.
29:33It was a chain,
29:35a weapon crafted
29:35by a monster
29:36to trap my mother
29:37and destroy her family
29:38forever.
29:38I have never hated
29:39myself more than
29:40I do right now.
29:43Valerie,
29:44listen to me.
29:46This baby...
29:47Before I can finish,
29:48Valerie suddenly
29:49covers my mouth
29:49with her hand.
29:52I look up at her
29:54and suddenly
29:55the dam inside me
29:57completely breaks.
29:59Tears pour down my face
30:00as I collapse
30:01to my knees
30:02beside the bed.
30:02I pull her hand
30:04away from my mouth
30:05and finally scream
30:06out the truth
30:07that destroyed me
30:08for an entire lifetime.
30:10This baby
30:11is a stain
30:12that monster
30:13left on your life.
30:14You'll hate it forever!
30:17Every time you look at it,
30:19you'll remember him!
30:21You'll wish
30:22it had never been born!
30:24My voice cracks
30:25apart completely.
30:27It's better to end this now
30:28than let that child
30:29grow up trapped
30:30in pain and misery.
30:33I can barely breathe
30:34through the sobbing.
30:35No one can calmly
30:37beg their own mother
30:38to erase them
30:38from existence.
30:39But at that exact moment,
30:41Valerie,
30:41who has been sitting there
30:43lifeless and hollow
30:43this whole,
30:44whole time,
30:45suddenly trembles violently.
30:47It's like something
30:48inside her
30:49finally snaps awake.
30:50She bolts upright
30:51from the bed
30:52and throws her arms
30:53around me
30:53without warning,
30:54crushing me
30:55against her chest.
30:56She holds me so tightly
30:57her fingers dig painfully
30:59into my back.
31:00Hot tears spill
31:01onto my neck,
31:02burning against my skin.
31:03And then she
31:04completely breaks down.
31:05I never wanted you dead!
31:08Nora!
31:10Her voice is raw
31:12and shattered
31:12from crying.
31:14Not once!
31:16Not for a single second
31:18did I ever
31:19wish you were dead!
31:23That single sentence
31:25crashes through the room
31:26with the weight
31:26of two lifetimes
31:27behind it.
31:28Every ounce of pain,
31:30resentment,
31:31anger,
31:32and loneliness
31:32I carried inside me
31:34shatters instantly
31:35into dust.
31:36Because she called me
31:38Nora.
31:39Not Scarlet.
31:40Nora.
31:41In this timeline,
31:42nobody knows that name.
31:44Nobody except my mother
31:46from my previous life.
31:47I freeze in her arms,
31:49my mind going
31:50completely blank.
31:51She isn't just
31:52the 18-year-old Valerie
31:53who knows nothing
31:54about the future.
31:56She remembers too.
31:58In this broken,
31:59twisted timeline,
32:01a near my find,
32:02my mother was reborn
32:04alongside me.
32:06I know.
32:08My entire body shakes
32:09as I cling to
32:10her shoulder,
32:11her shoulder
32:12like a lost child.
32:15I know I was never
32:17supposed to be born.
32:18You had every reason
32:20to hate me
32:21because of that monster.
32:23Valerie suddenly
32:24grabs my face
32:24with both hands
32:25and forces me
32:26to look at her
32:26through her tears.
32:27How could a mother
32:28ever hate her child?
32:30After two lifetimes,
32:32inside this old
32:32Texas house in 1996,
32:34she finally tears
32:35open the truth
32:36she buried for decades
32:37and through uncontrollable
32:39sobbing,
32:40my mother finally tells me
32:41why she stood beside
32:42my hospital bed
32:43and watched me die
32:44in my previous life.
32:47The reason I couldn't
32:49donate bone marrow
32:50was because I had
32:52terminal cancer too.
32:53I wasn't eligible
32:55to donate.
32:56I wasn't abandoning you,
32:58Nora.
32:58How could I ever
33:00abandon my own daughter?
33:02Outside,
33:03the winter wind screams
33:05across the Texas borderlands.
33:07But inside this cold
33:09little room,
33:09a mother and daughter
33:11separated by two lifetimes
33:12finally find each other again
33:14in the ruins
33:15of everything they lost.
33:17Valerie clutches me
33:18so tightly
33:19she's shaking.
33:20I never gave on you,
33:22Nora.
33:22I begged everyone
33:24I could for help.
33:25I borrowed money
33:26from anybody
33:26willing to listen
33:27because I wanted
33:28to save you.
33:29Every word tears
33:30out of her throat
33:30like it physically
33:31hurts to say it.
33:32Your bastard father
33:33wouldn't pay
33:34a single dime.
33:35The ICU bills
33:36kept piling up
33:37every single day.
33:38The hospital kept
33:38mailing notices
33:39until my bowel box
33:40was overflowing.
33:41In the end,
33:41I sold every apartment
33:43and every piece of property
33:44I owned in Boston
33:45just to barely cover
33:46your medical bills.
33:47Then her breathing
33:47completely falls apart.
33:49And Austin.
33:50That monster wanted
33:51to pull your ventilator
33:52out himself
33:52back at the trailer park.
33:54He lied to you.
33:55He actually convinced you
33:56that I was the one
33:57who abandoned you.
33:58She cries so hard
33:59she can barely breathe anymore.
34:00Decades of humiliation
34:01and buried motherhood
34:02finally exploding out
34:03all at once.
34:04Back then,
34:05I left with Hector's mother
34:06to work in the city
34:07because I needed money.
34:08I was trying to build
34:09enough of a life
34:09to come back
34:10and take you away
34:11from that rotting border town.
34:12But the second I left,
34:14Austin cut off
34:14every possible way
34:15for me to contact you.
34:16He guarded the trailer park
34:18with a gun
34:18and wouldn't even
34:19let me get near you.
34:20The only thing
34:21I could do
34:24Her voice breaks
34:25completely
34:27was stand outside
34:28your school
34:29at the beginning
34:29of every semester
34:30and watch you
34:31from across the street.
34:35I bite down
34:36so hard
34:37on my lip
34:38I taste blood.
34:39My vision
34:40is completely blurred
34:42by tears.
34:43And finally,
34:44I understand everything.
34:47Back then,
34:49she was only 18.
34:50A girl who had survived
34:52something horrific
34:52whose mind was already
34:53hanging by a thread.
34:55There was no way
34:56she could go back
34:56to that monster.
34:58For her,
34:59every step towards
35:00that trailer cramp
35:01was like walking back
35:01into hell itself.
35:03But fate has always
35:04been cruel.
35:05By the time mom
35:05finally saved enough money
35:07and came back
35:07to fight for custody
35:09of me,
35:09Austin had already
35:10sensed something was coming.
35:11He grabbed me
35:12in the middle of the night
35:13and disappeared.
35:14And in the 1990s,
35:15before cell phones,
35:17databases,
35:18and internet tracking
35:19connected the world,
35:20we vanished
35:20into countless
35:21forgotten trailer parks
35:22scattered across America.
35:24She never found us again.
35:27Valerie cups my face
35:29with trembling hands.
35:33When you turned 18,
35:35you finally tracked down
35:36my private number.
35:37Her voice cracks apart.
35:39But by then,
35:42I'd already been diagnosed
35:43with terminal cancer.
35:46I didn't have much time
35:48left, Nora.
35:51Her tears mixed with mine
35:53as they streamed down
35:53our faces together.
35:55My body was falling apart
35:56day by day.
35:57I didn't want to drag you
35:58into that.
35:59I couldn't bear the thought
36:00of you watching me die
36:01in a hospital bed
36:02or inheriting all my debt
36:04after I was gone.
36:05That's why I acted cold
36:07on the phone.
36:08That's why I pretended
36:09I didn't know you!
36:10Everything inside my head
36:11goes completely blank.
36:15The mother I spent
36:17my whole life hating
36:17never abandoned me.
36:19Not once.
36:21With a body and soul
36:22shattered by a monster,
36:23she still fought
36:24through the filled
36:25and hopelessness
36:26of the 1990s
36:27with everything she had left
36:28just to keep loving me.
36:30We cling to each other
36:31in that dark little room
36:32and cry until there
36:33are no tears left.
36:35Finally,
36:36I wipe my face hard
36:37and force myself
36:38to look straight
36:39into her eyes.
36:40Mom,
36:41if we've really both
36:42been given another chance,
36:44then don't let me
36:45become your change
36:46all over again.
36:47We can still fix this.
36:49We'll go to the hospital.
36:51Without me,
36:51you can finally
36:52live your own life.
36:53Valerie instantly
36:54shakes her head
36:55in panic.
36:55Stop!
36:56Don't say that!
36:57I can't do it!
36:58Nora!
36:59You are part of me!
37:00I will never let you go!
37:03She covers her face,
37:04crying uncontrollably.
37:06And seeing the pain
37:07and determination
37:07in her eyes,
37:08I can't force her anymore.
37:10The sunset over
37:11the Texas border
37:12paints the entire sky
37:13blood red.
37:14Hot wind rolls
37:15through the yard
37:16carrying dust
37:17and dry heat
37:18that makes my chest
37:18tighten with unease.
37:20Grandpa fires up
37:21the smoker in the backyard
37:22using a stash of oak wood
37:24he's been saving for years.
37:25Before long,
37:26the air fills with the smell
37:27of smoked brisket and ribs.
37:28Grandma and I spend
37:29the entire afternoon
37:30preparing dinner,
37:31wanting to give mom,
37:31the girl who suffered
37:32so much in this timeline,
37:34the happiest 18th birthday possible.
37:35But just as grandma
37:36wipes her hands clean
37:37and starts heading inside
37:38to call Valerie at a dinner...
37:47Officer Wyatt,
37:48we've got a problem.
37:50Austin escaped
37:51during transport
37:51to federal prison.
37:52He killed two federal marshals
37:54and stole a shotgun.
37:55Dispatch intercepted
37:56a report ten minutes ago.
37:57He's heading straight for town
37:58in a stolen pickup truck.
37:59The second I hear
38:01Austin's name,
38:02rage destinates
38:02inside my body.
38:04Every ounce of blood
38:05in my veins
38:05feels like it catches fire.
38:07He's coming here
38:08for revenge!
38:14That monster ruined
38:16my mother once already.
38:17Why the hell
38:18should he get another chance
38:19to destroy her life?
38:26While grandpa and grandma
38:28rush back inside
38:29and scotch
38:29to grab their
38:30Remingston shoe duns,
38:32I move first.
38:39Without hesitation,
38:41I snatch up the heavy cleaver
38:42sitting beside the cutting board
38:44in the kitchen.
38:54I don't even look back
38:55at the house.
38:56Eyes burning red
38:57with hatred,
38:58I run straight into
38:59the blood-colored
39:00Texas dusk.
39:01Austin,
39:02even if this drags my soul
39:03straight into hell,
39:05this time,
39:06I'm going to kill you myself.
39:11Night falls fast
39:13near the border.
39:14Freezing wind
39:15filled with sand
39:16cuts across my face
39:17like blades.
39:20I crouch silently
39:21in the shadows
39:22near the edge
39:22of the neighborhood,
39:23my palms slick
39:24with sweat
39:25around the handle
39:26of the clemver.
39:28But no matter
39:29how long I wait,
39:31Austin never appears.
39:32Then around midnight,
39:33a horrible instinct
39:35suddenly clenches
39:35around my heart.
39:37Valerie should
39:38have returned
39:39from the clinic
39:39hours ago.
39:40But she still
39:41isn't home.
39:42Headlights suddenly
39:43tear through the darkness.
39:44Grandpa's old
39:45wake-up truck
39:46skids to a stop
39:47beside me.
39:47Scarlet, get in!
39:54Grandma and Grandpa
39:55both look pale with fear,
39:57gripping loaded
39:57Remington shoot guns
39:58tightly in their hands.
40:00We immediately
40:01start tracking tire marks
40:02and crushed brush
40:03along the bide side.
40:07Following every sign
40:08we can find.
40:09The search leads us
40:10all the way
40:11to the edge of town.
40:12Then the pickup engine
40:13dies.
40:14Silence.
40:14Nothing but cold
40:15desert wind
40:16and darkness.
40:17In front of us
40:18sits an abandoned
40:18trailer park
40:19that's been empty
40:20for years.
40:20We split up
40:21to search for Valerie.
40:22Let go of me!
40:23Let go of me!
40:23You're insane!
40:24Let me go!
40:27Let go of me!
40:28You're insane!
40:29Let me go!
40:31My mind goes blank.
40:34I know instantly
40:35there's no time
40:36to turn back
40:36for Grandpa.
40:38So I run toward
40:40Valerie's screams
40:40alone.
40:43But somewhere
40:44during those few
40:45desperate seconds,
40:46hearing my mother
40:47crying inside
40:48that trailer,
40:50something strange
40:51happens.
40:53The panic inside
40:54my head
40:55suddenly disappears.
40:56Something strange
40:57happens.
40:58The panic inside
40:59my head
40:59suddenly disappears.
41:01Completely.
41:02As I sprint
41:03through the freezing
41:03dark,
41:04I grip the heavy
41:04meat clever
41:05hidden beneath
41:06my coat
41:06so tightly
41:06my hand aches.
41:08My palm
41:08is slipped
41:09with sweat.
41:09But my eyes
41:10hold no fear
41:11anymore.
41:12Only calm
41:13and certainty.
41:15In that moment,
41:16I finally understand
41:17why I came back
41:17to this world.
41:18I wasn't reborn
41:19to keep living
41:20as that monster's
41:21unwanted child.
41:22I crossed 28 years
41:23of time for one
41:24reason only.
41:25To set my mother
41:26free, even if it
41:27cost the life I was
41:28never supposed to
41:29have in the first
41:30place.
41:31I stare at the
41:32battered trailer
41:33door glowing faintly
41:34under the moonlight.
41:35And I never slow
41:36down for even a
41:37second.
41:38You sick bastard!
41:41D'AHHHHH!
41:45Without hesitation,
41:47I slam my foot
41:48into the flimsy
41:48aluminum trailer
41:49door.
41:50Using the momentum,
41:52I throw myself
41:52straight at Austin
41:53from behind.
41:55Under the pale
41:56moonlight, I raise
41:57the heavy cleaver
41:58high over my head
41:59and bring it down
42:00with every ounce
42:01of hatred from
42:02both lifetimes
42:03behind it.
42:05Austin lets out
42:06an animalistic
42:07scream, but I
42:07underestimated what
42:09kind of monster
42:10he really is.
42:14a man who
42:16survived years
42:16of cartel
42:17violence along
42:18the border
42:18doesn't go down
42:19easily.
42:21The pain only
42:22drives me insane.
42:24Before I can
42:24swing again,
42:25agony shoots
42:26through my arm
42:27like the bone
42:27is about to snap.
42:29I'm gonna kill
42:30you!
42:32The clever is
42:33ripped out of my
42:34hands instantly.
42:35Clang!
42:36The weapon
42:36crashes to the
42:37floor as Austin
42:38slams me hard
42:39against the ground
42:39inside the trailer.
42:43under the dim
42:44moonlight leaking
42:45through the broken
42:46trailer walls,
42:47Austin finally
42:48sees my face
42:49clearly.
42:52You little
42:53bitch again.
42:55You just keep
42:56ruining everything!
42:58He roars hysterically
42:59and raises the
43:00clumber over his head.
43:01Then it comes down.
43:03Again.
43:04And again.
43:05The blade
43:06flashes silver
43:07through the cramped
43:08trailer.
43:08Each strike
43:09tears violently
43:10into my stomach
43:11and chest
43:12without mercy.
43:18Warm blood
43:18immediately floods
43:19from my mouth
43:20soaking my clothes.
43:24Strangely,
43:26I can't feel pain
43:27anymore.
43:31My mind is
43:32terrifyingly clear.
43:33Only one thought
43:34keeps screaming
43:35inside my head.
43:36Don't let him go.
43:38Don't let him get
43:39to Valerie.
43:39No!
43:40Please!
43:41Stop!
43:42Let her go!
43:45Time moves quickly
43:47beneath Boston's
43:48blue skies.
43:51Valerie throws
43:52every ounce of grief
43:53and pain
43:53into study.
43:57Fueled by the
43:58determination
43:59of two lifetimes,
44:00she works through
44:01endless nights
44:02until she's accepted
44:04into Harvard
44:05with near-perfect
44:07scores.
44:09And Hector,
44:10the boy who
44:11once cries for me
44:12at that Texas
44:12bus station,
44:15finally achieved
44:16his own dream, too.
44:19Earning a place
44:20at one of the
44:20country's top
44:21medical schools.
44:24Textbooks
44:25become Valerie's
44:26shelter
44:26and the child
44:27growing inside her.
44:28The child
44:30once used
44:30by monsters
44:31as blackmail
44:32is finally
44:33being nurtured
44:34in warmth
44:34and love.
44:36The following autumn,
44:38beneath golden
44:39maple leaves
44:40and the bright lights
44:41of a Boston
44:41maternity room,
44:43a baby girl
44:44enters the world
44:45with a loud,
44:46healthy cry.
44:48Valerie lies
44:49exhausted
44:49against the hospital bed,
44:51tears blurring
44:52her vision
44:52as she smiles
44:53wider than she
44:53ever has before.
44:55With trembling arms,
44:56she holds
44:57the tiny newborn
44:58against her chest
44:59and kisses
45:00her forehead gently.
45:01No,
45:02mom.
45:03Welcome to the world,
45:04baby.
45:05This time,
45:06there's no moldy
45:07trailer park.
45:08No violence.
45:09No shadow
45:10left behind
45:11by monsters.
45:12Sunlight pours
45:13through the hospital
45:13windows
45:14onto a warm
45:14nursery crib.
45:15Grandpa and grandma
45:16show up crying
45:17and wearing
45:18brand new Barbie dolls.
45:20Hector adjusts
45:21his glasses
45:22and smiles softly
45:23beside him.
45:24And this version
45:25of Nora
45:25is finally born
45:27into love.
45:30After that,
45:31life slowly
45:32finds its way
45:32onto the right path.
45:34Without the suffering
45:35and burdens
45:35of the first timeline,
45:37Valerie and Hector
45:38both reach the futures
45:39they are always
45:40meant to have.
45:41Hector becomes
45:42one of the country's
45:43leading surgeons,
45:45saving countless lives.
45:47Valor becomes
45:48a legendary attorney
45:49known across America,
45:51dedicating her career
45:53to protecting women
45:54and children
45:54through civil rights law.
45:56And the new Nora
45:57grows up
45:58beneath Harvard's
45:59golden autumn trees
46:00surrounded by love
46:02instead of fear.
46:03She is bright,
46:05confident,
46:07happy.
46:09The cancer
46:10that once
46:10destroys my body
46:13never appears
46:14in hers.
46:18As little Nora
46:19grows up,
46:20she watches Valerie
46:22and Hector
46:22eventually fall in love
46:23and build a quiet,
46:24beautiful family together.
46:27Their life
46:28isn't glamorous,
46:29but the love
46:30they give her
46:30overflows far beyond
46:32what most families
46:33could ever offer.
46:34And somewhere
46:35inside the golden
46:36evening light,
46:37the version of me
46:38that crosses time itself.
46:40The wandering soul
46:42carried away
46:43by the wind
46:43finally smiles.
46:45At the end
46:46of her autobiography,
46:47my mother writes
46:48one final dedication.
46:50Every achievement
46:51and honor in my life
46:52belongs to a girl
46:54named Nora.
46:55My daughter
46:55once tears open
46:57the darkness
46:57with her own life
46:58and I spend
46:59the rest of mine
47:00bringing her back
47:01into the light.
47:02I lean quietly
47:03against my mother's
47:04knee in that
47:04final memory
47:05and whisper softly
47:06in my heart,
47:08dear dreams.
47:09Mom,
47:10this time,
47:11you get everything right.
47:13And at last,
47:14those two wounded souls
47:15walk hand in hand
47:16towards the endless
47:17stars waiting
47:17beyond the clouds.
47:19love
47:19you
47:20you
47:20you
47:21You
Comments